Redfury the Brave
by Yarin-Baskblade
Summary: When vermin ships threateningly arrive over the horizon one day, Redfury the Brave, the badger lord of Salamandastron, must stop them before they go too far and takeover all of Mossflower! Chapter 7 url: www.fanficiton.nets21416527
1. At Salamandastron

Chapter 1

Dawn clouds streamed the skies as the morning sun peeped over the horizon. The seas shimmered from the reflection cast by the great ball of light. Sands from the shore neighbored the sea. They connected to the grass that was shimmering like the sea, but from the early morning dew. A few meters inland would reveal the gigantic mass of rock that was Salamandastron, the great mountain of fire lizards.

The whole of the extinct volcano was a mountain fortress, a guard to the shores of Mossflower. There were windows here and there and many, many tunnels, corridors, chambers, rooms, staircases, and halls carved their way through the mountain, making it also home to many creatures. A Badger Lord and/or lived there and ruled the mountain, and once he or she passed on in battle or retired from their career, fate would choose another badger or badgers to rule the mountain. But the badgers were not the only creatures that lived here. Their friends and loyal companions, the hares, also lived here and served as guards and infantry to the mountain's defense. But there was also a special squad of hares called the Long Patrol that went on special missions and aided Mossflower in times of need. Most females served as cooks and helped to clean the mountain, but some served in the mountain's defense and were in the Long Patrol, just like the one that starts this story…

A hare named Swiftpaw walked around the outer shell of the extinct volcano on her usual guard route, whistling an old tune of Salamandastron. On her head was a spiked silver helm. She walked around in a velvet green tunic and was carrying a rather large spear. She rested it on her right shoulder, strutting around the mountain without a care in the world. But there was something to care about. Something that was a threat to all Mossflower. Smiling and whistling the song, she walked about, and was thankful when she heard a loud, long drill whistle blow.

"Okay, chaps, great job, I say, but time for brekkers, wot!" said a familiar voice. It was Colonel Whipscuttle Greenrage Ferrimord. All hares on duty immediately stopped what they were doing to go inside the mountain's Mess Hall for breakfast. As Swiftpaw got in line to go inside the gates, she saw Colonel Ferrimord slip her a wink. She just smiled as she passed him. He slipped something into her paws as she passed.

"Give it to Lord Redfury," he whispered, but it was so quiet and sneaky that no one noticed the command but Swiftpaw. She nodded and continued inside.

She walked with the rest of the group through a series of tunnels and rooms, all lit by torches and lamps. As the rest of the hares entered the Mess Hall, she turned left and went down another corridor. She went down, down, and down some more until she finally came to the very center of the mountain itself: the forgery. She rapped loudly on the door and waited for a reply.

"Come in," answered a gruff, raspy voice. She obeyed and opened the door quietly. What she came into was a gigantic room with a forge at the center. Weapons, armor, and other things that had been made by badgers of Salamandastron lined the walls. It was all dark, so Swiftpaw could barely see. The only lights were the flames of the forge.

"What is it?" demanded a voice, but the voice got softer as it spoke again: "Oh, it's you, Swiftpaw, my hard-working guard! So, why have you come to my forge today?"

"Well," answered the female hare nervously, "Colonel Ferrimord wanted me to give this to you." She revealed the piece of rolled up parchment and gave it to the large badger that came out of the shadows. It was Lord Redfury the Brave, the Badger Lord of Salamandastron at that time. He unrolled it and murmured some things to himself, too mixed up and rough for Swiftpaw to hear. Slowly, a frown played onto Redfury's face. He sculpted the piece of parchment into a ball and threw it into one of the shadows of his forge.

"Tell Colonel Ferrimord to assemble the troops along the volcano rim, and then tell him to come down to the forge. I want to have a word with him."

"Yessir," she said quickly. She then bowed and exited the room.


	2. Writing in Dawn's Light

Chapter 2 

The same dawn sun was coming over the horizon in Mossflower Country. Ash trees, oak trees, pecan trees, and all other kinds of trees and plants decorated the forests of Mossflower. A path that had carved out of the trees and plants led north, and on the right side of the path was a wonderful place of red sandstone, a wonderful place where creatures did chores without a care and lived together in peace. This place was called Redwall Abbey, and today, a particular mouse was writing in his journal. His name was Sarrim the Recorder of Redwall Abbey, but most just called him Sarrim. Today he was writing an entry about the first day of the season:

_Extract from the journal of Sarrim, the recorder of Redwall Abbey._

It is Summer of the Singing Sparrow!

Just the other day, in fact, I was strolling along when I heard a sparrow singing a song that sounded much like one of Old Thremma's tunes! (I'll bet he listened to that tune the night when we all had that festival last season.) I just smiled and continued to walk.

Wow, how long I have been recorder, I don't know, but being a recorder is tough work! I literally heard myself creak as I walked up the stairs to my dormitory to write today. I guess all this writing is starting to take its toll on my old figure. Young Jayermi Redleaf cooked his first pie today, though I have to put quite frankly that it didn't taste too good. Ah well, all he needs is some more practice and he'll start cooking like Friar Halbritt! Ha, I can't believe that old fat mouse is still working in the kitchens here at Redwall! Of course, I will not insult his terrific cooking, but in my opinion he is getting a little old for the job, as am I for this job. Maybe someday soon I will pass on my duties as recorder to an eager younger soul, but until then, I shall work, or should I say write, to my best potential.

The Nameday Feast was terrific, though I certainly cannot wait for the Summer Festival. There will be games, a feast, songs, dancing, poems, and much, much more! It's funny that the Nameday Feast and the Summer Festival have been so oddly scheduled to be about the same time. Two great events in two weeks! Well, I think I'm getting a little overexcited here. I'd best go down and have some breakfast before it gets cold. In the words of Friar Halbritt, "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day".

Well, I'll be off now. I hope I can get down those wretched stairs without my legs snapping off.

Sarrim Furash 

_Recorder of Redwall Abbey_

Sarrim the old mouse recorder smiled at his newly written journal entry. He looked at it oddly, though, as if something were missing, but shrugged his shoulders and turned towards the dormitory doorway. He closed his journal, slipped on his velvet green robe, the usual clothing of a Redwaller, and tiptoed out of the room, trying not to wake any slumbering creatures. He crept down to the end of the hallway, passing many dormitory doors as he went. The light of the morning sun leaked lightly through the stained glass windows that Sarrim passed on his way to the end of the hallway.

He turned at the end to see a twisting spiral staircase that led down stairs. He looked behind him to make sure that he had not wakened anybody up and then turned back to the staircase to go down. It spiraled downwards to the left. The old mouse went down the aged wooden staircase slowly, for he did not want to go too fast or the stairs would creak and wake someone up. He gingerly took another step down, looked behind him to make sure that the creak had not waken anybody up, and then looked back and…

BAM! 

"Young Mattlimony, what do you think you're doing crashing into me like that? You must learn to respect your elders! You nearly had me head over footpaws with that maneuver! You need to slow down! I know you are just a Dibbun, but Dibbuns must learn from their mistakes, and that was definitely one of them!" shouted Sarrim.

The shy, but eager, brown mouse named Mattlimony looked at his footpaws with shame. "I'm sowwy, Mista Sawwim. I won't neva do it 'gin! Sowwy, but me 'n the othew babes wewe jus' goin' ta wakey up Mum Kweffin!" he explained, and then pointed at the other three Dibbuns behind him.

"Well, I'm sure that you, Hithra, Fallum, and Glorra have learned your lesson about watching where you are going and not running on stairs, but how can I be mad at you adorable rouges? Go on, just don't come crying to me if Mother Kreffin spanks you for waking her up! Oh yes, and remember to walk carefully and don't wake the other sleepers up, okay?"

"Yes Mista Sawwim!" all four said at the same time. Sarrim looked at them, nodded his head, and then continued towards the bottom level of the Abbey. The four Dibbuns looked behind them to see where Sarrim was going. As soon as he rounded the corner, they were off again.

"Mum Kweffin, Mum Kweffin, wakey up, 's time fow bwekkers!" the four of them shouted. The young badger mother stood up from her bed. She had been a warrior back before she had come to Redwall Abbey and retired from Salamandastron. She looked at them and tried to keep a straight face as she told them off.

"You four aren't supposed to wake Abbeydwellers up before they want to get up! I've had to get onto you for this many times before! Now leave this room before I spank the four of you!" she ordered. They all squealed and dashed out of the room, not wanting to get slapped by the strong badgermother of Redwall.

Other Redwallers had been awaken by the bellowing shouts of the badger, and had dressed in their night robes to see what was going on. A female squirrel named Sofflet entered the room. She had brown fur and blue eyes, not quite as blue as the sea, but definitely as shiny. Right after her entry, she had a dodge out of the way as four yelping Dibbuns came shuffling out of the room. Her gaze immediately came to the badger in bed.

"Mother Kreffin, what did you do to those poor, innocent Dibbuns?" she joked.

"Oh nothing, really, just told them that breakfast was ready. As soon as they heard they shouted excitedly and ran out of the room."

Sofflet knew that the badgermother was just joking around when she had said that. She laughed and exited the room to go down to breakfast, shouting over her shoulder at Kreffin as she went:

"I sure hope you weren't lying like those four young rouges do!" she laughed. The badgermother just smiled and got out of bed to put her white day gown on. She lifted it up and slipped it over her head and then turned to the doorway. In minutes she had disappeared behind the walls.


	3. Guard in Training

Chapter 3

"Why are we up here?" asked Riffly, a brown-furred guard-in-training. His pal Welpinns, another brown-furred hare, just looked at him familiarly, as he always did, and smiled. "I'd tell you if I knew," he said smartly. Riffly looked at him and slipped a snigger as Colonel Ferrimord gave him 'The Look'. Immediately his paws shot to his sides and he stood up straight.

"What in the name of marmalade is so funny, wot?" demanded the colonel. Riffly kept looking forwards.

"Jus' wonderin' why we are up here, sah!" he said, continuing to stare forward into empty space.

"Is that any of your business, young hare?" he said.

"No, sah!"

"Will you snigger again while we are up here, guard-in-training?"

"No, sah!"

"Good. Now keep looking towards the sea and I'll tell you why we are bally up here, though you jolly well don't deserve to know, wot. Do you see those dots up on the ocean water?"

"Yes, sah!" shouted every hare gathered on the rim of the volcano. Ferrimord had gone to the end of the line and turned around to go back the other way.

"Well, good, because those dots are ships, and they don't look too friendly to me. Vermin ships, by the way of their shape. Don't get me wrong, they could be good, but I still want the bally lot of you to stay up here and guard, wot!"

There were many "Yessahs" that followed the theory. Riffly looked smartly in front of him as Ferrimord passed by him, trying to make up for his previous mistakes. Ferrimord barely noticed, as all the other hares around him were doing a great job too. Welpinns' eyes darted to the left to make sure that Ferrimord was not there, and then turned towards Riffly.

"Sorry for getting' you into trouble, wot! I hope you'll forgive me!"

"Ah, 'twasn't your fault, 'twas mine. Shouldn't have bally been spreadin' spit everywhere in the firs' place, doncha know."

"Yes, yes, very well. Oh, do stop talkin', here comes the ol' colonel now. Look straight, look straight!"

"What was that, young Welpinns?" asked the colonel.

"Nothin' sah, jus' lookin' for that pesky gnat, keeps flyin' in me ears, can't get quite swat at him, wot!" lied the brown hare.

"Very well, very well," said Ferrimord, though Welpinns saw the look that the colonel had given him. It was as though he could see right through the lies that had just been told to him. Welpinns looked away as Ferrimord passed, but he did it behind his back so that the colonel wouldn't notice. Then Welpinns' gaze fell back over the seas. If they were vermin ships, than this would be the young hare's first battle. It would also be Riffly's. Realizing this at the exact same moment, the two inexperienced hares looked as each other grimly and gulped, a knot forming at their throats.

Even though he was nervous, he was also eager, eager to get to his first battle. He could be famous soon after.

A white hare named Podgerom looked over at Riffly. He gulped and started to sweat a little, as eager as the young hare next to him.

"Are you nervous, Riff?" he asked.

"Nah," replied Riffly. Then Podgerom smiled.

"Okay, maybe a little…" Podgerom smiled again.

"Okay, yes! I am nervous! Now stop bally lookin' at me like that, wot, or you're goin' to make me more nervous!"

"Okay, okay, fine. I knew you were nervous."

"What? So are you!"

"I know, but at least _I'll_ admit it."

"Pff," said Riffly as he turned back to watch the noontide waters. He was indeed nervous. The ships were coming, and there was nothing he, Podgerom, or Welpinns could do about it.

Redfury had held the conversation with Ferrimord about an hour before, yet the badger was still in his forge, thinking, ever thinking, for a plan, just the slightest bit of plan. Maybe if he found a tiny idea he could branch off of that and form a great welcoming plan, though nothing was coming to mind but the thought of eating apple pies of summer. He licked his lips in thought, and then realized the importance of what he had been doing the moment before. He looked up towards the door. The presence of another creature was there. Creeping over towards the door, he waited for them to make a sound. When none came, he pushed open the door, and before him stood Swiftpaw with another note.

"Sah, here is another note from Ferrimord!" she said.

"What are you, his personal messenger now?" he joked as he opened the letter.

Everything in ship shape up here. Ships coming closer (as expected). Vermin ships most likely. Hares are doing fine. Hope you're doing fine too. Any battle plans?

Colonel Whipscuttle Greenrage Ferrimord 

The badger looked at it and read it over a few times. He smiled weakly and grabbed his pen. Scribbling something down quickly, he rolled it back up and shoved it into Swiftpaw's paws.

"I'll see you when he sends it back the next time. You are a good hare, Swiftpaw."

"Thank you, Lord, and I'll give this to Colonel Ferrimord as soon as I get back up on the volcano rim. I think those ships are bally bad news, wot!"

"Me too, Swiftpaw, me too…"


	4. An Oddly Large Breakfast

A/N: Well, Yarin Baskblade here. I hope you've enjoyed the story so far. I've got a few surprises coming later on in the story, but for now, this is what you get, I guess. Plot development, basically. Well, here it is.

Chapter 4

Sarrim's mouth watered. It seemed like they were going to have a fantastic breakfast! Hot scones, apple pie, cherry tarts, October Ale, strawberry fizz, and water. He had never seen so much food for breakfast in his life.

Abbot Farasen was the perfect creature for his job. For such a young age to be Abbot he was also smart beyond his seasons. The mouse was clad in the usual Redwall attire, which was a green velvet robe with a brown belt and a metal belt buckle. Hands in sleeves, he walked over to where the old recorder mouse stood.

"G'day to you, Father Abbot."

"And good day to you, Sarrim Furash. I can tell that you've been writing in your journal."

"Well yes, Father, but how'd you know?"

"I have my ways," the Father Abbot replied. Sarrim just smiled and sat down. Abbot Farasen seated himself down to the old Recorder.

"So, Father, was this breakfast your idea? Are we celebrating anything?"

"Sadly, no, we aren't. I guess we just have a lot of food for some strange reason. Well, I'd best eat up quick and get back to my work!"

"Yes, me too! But until then, we can just have a little chat."

The two friends talked for a long time. Redwallers came to eat breakfast and Redwallers went. What had started out as minutes turned to hours, and soon time had found its place inside the mice's heads.

"Oh dearie me! I must get back to writing!" exclaimed Sarrim.

"And I must get back to my office. There is work to be done. I guess that time flies when you are having a good conversation with an old friend, eh Sarrim Furash?"

"That's right, ol' buddy! Wait, why am I callin' you that? I'm the one that's old here! Ha ha, well, I'll se you at dinner then?"

"At dinner 'twill be! See you then!"

The two mice walked off from Great Hall, a great breakfast eaten with a full day of work and writing ahead of them.

A/N: So yeah, pretty boring, but it's all I have for now! Mwaa haa haa, I'm so evil! Well, until next time, my friends and fans!


	5. Other Messages

A/N: Sorry that this one won't be as long. It's late at night and my ideas are all dried up, so right now there will basically just be plot development and some conversing. So without further ado, here is Chapter 5:

Chapter 5

Good job. No ideas yet. Come back to forge. Leave trusty hare in charge.

Lord Redfury the Brave of Salamandastron

Ferrimord read the letter over a few times then grunted. He crumbled it up and stuffed it into one of his pockets in his green coat.

"Very well," he murmured. "Hey, you there!"

"Me?" questioned Podgerom.

"Yes you," grunted Colonel Ferrimord. "I have business to attend to in the mountain forge. I will leave you in charge until I come back up, wot. Remember: keep the hares looking to that jolly ol' sea. Got it?"

"Yessah!" he shouted as he saluted the higher ranked creature.

"Good. I hope you do a bally good job too, wot!" The colonel messed around with his hat to make it looked right, and then patted Swiftpaw on the shoulder.

"Okay, I'm ready to go down to ol' Lord Redfury's forge now, missy!"

"Great! I'll lead the way, wot!"

Together the two hares walked down from the mountain's rim and into the hallways that led ever downward, deeper into the mountain of the badger lords.

Redfury dropped his hammer and lost grip of the red-hot axe blade that he held in his paw as there was a loud knock on the forge door. Sweaty from the forge's fires, he made his way to the door that the knock had come from. The door opened with a creak to reveal Colonel Ferrimord and Swiftpaw the hare.

"Swiftpaw, thank you for your kindness as to assisting us."

"Thanks? I should be the one thanking you! I'd rather carry messages than stand guard and look at the jolly ol' sea all day long any day, wot!"

"Well, then, I'm sorry to say this, but you are excused to go back to guard duty now," said the badger lord with a smile.

"Ah, well, you can't win 'em all, wot!" Swiftpaw noted to herself as she left the forge and went back up the staircase towards the mountaintop.

"Well, milord, what is it that you wanted me for?"

The badger put his paws together at his waist and sat down at a table, gesturing for the colonel to do the same. "I have something to discuss with you. Say that those ships are vermin. The Long Patrol is gone on missions, and they will not be within messaging range. In other words, there is no way we can contact them until they get back, which might not be until next season. And note when I say ships. We have only two hundred fighting hares here. They might have thousands of vermin. I know that I am the badger lord and it is my duty to make sure that Salamandastron is safe, but there is nothing that I can do! I'm empty of ideas! That's why I've called for you, Colonel Ferrimord. I need you to help me with battle plans."

The hare smiled with hidden excitement. "Well, I _was_ schemin' on my way down to the jolly forge. I have a few battle plans up my sleeve, wot!"

"Well what are you waiting for? Tell them to me!" said the badger eagerly.

"Yessah! Well, here's what the ol' colonel's been cookin' up…"

A/N: Well, I like to leave you in suspense like that. Once again, I'm sorry that it was so short, but hopefully I'll get to writing another one tomorrow. See you then!


	6. SubColonel Podgerom

A/N: Yarin here again. Late at night again. Ha ha ha, I crack myself up. Well not really, but oh well. Okay, so here's the next chapter. I guess you could say it's a little silly…

Chapter 6

"All troop to the west-side rim! Report immediately to the flippin' west-side rim, wot!" ordered sub-Colonel Podgerom. The hare was quite fit for his short-term job as colonel. Riffly laughed at his friend's commands, hardly believing that the oaf could even survive as an upper-ranker.

"Ha ha, you've really mastered the techniques there, wot, with all that flippin' worshippin' of ol' Colonel Very-wart, wot! Whoohahaha!" joked Riffly.

"Is that laughin' I hear in the ranks, sah? You've gotten in trouble already today, wot, and if I were you I wouldn't want to get in bally trouble again! Is that clear, sah?" asked the sub-colonel.

"Ha ha, clear my footpaws! Whoohah—"

"What did you just say to me, wot?" demanded the sub-colonel. He surely wasn't joking with this one. His stern eyes stared into those of the guard-in-training's.

"Wow, you really mean business with this one, wot. Oh well, I'll play along. Sah, sorry for laughin'! Won't happen again, sah!"

"That's what I thought you said, young Riffly! Now get to the west-side rim and report to me what you bally see or I'll see that you see the sea!"

"Wow, you're gonna confuse the lot of us, sah! Whoohahaha!"

"I said go!" shouted the sub-colonel, who was growing very impatient. Riffly saluted very unrealistically and turned to the west-side rim, hiding a giggle as his gaze turned to the sea. The ships were indeed the spawns of vermin. Riffly could tell that because of the design…and because _Bilgeblood_ was printed on the side of the biggest ship in large letters.

"Sah, they are vermin ships indeed! _Bilgeblood_ is the name of that big one, wot, but I can't quite read the other ones yet, sah!"

"Good job. I knew you'd turn a new leaf, wot! Now get back to guard duty!"

"Yessah!" said the guard-in-training, who right now was in a mood that was a total opposite of serious. Turning around, he couldn't help but let out a laugh.

"Whoohahaha!"

"What did you say, young Riffly?"

"I'm not younger'n you…I mean, whoo-her-hak-hoo! Mind if I get a tissue, wot? My bally cough is comin' up again!"

"Get back in the ranks, you fake!"

"Yessah!" said the hare. He scurried back to the west-side rim to get a better look at the vermin ships that had suddenly come into such a plain view.

A/N: Don't say I didn't warn you. Well, I've got nothing else to say until next chapter. See you there!


	7. Captain and Crew

A/N: Hi again, Yarin here. Well, my aunt is in town with her two dogs. They are both puppies and they are cool. I think that they're dachshunds, but I'm not sure and I can't ask because my aunt's asleep. It always seems to be late at night when I'm writing. Ah well, you've heard me talk enough, time to read the rest of the story:

Chapter 7 

The _Bilgeblood_ bobbed up and down as the waves ran across it and carried it ever closer to the shore. Captain Waveclaw smiled grimly as he looked over the edge of the ship. Those hares really meant business. They weren't just going to let him pass through.

"We'll just have to do battle with 'em," thought the foxcaptain aloud. "They probably aren't even trained properly. We'll rough them up a bit!"

"What was that, Cap'n? You want me to scrub the ship?" said Kleffer, the loyal shipmate of Waveclaw.

"No, I said 'rough them up a bit', you idjit!"

"Sorry, Cap'n. Me ears must be failin' me!"

"Oh shut yer whinin' gob an' get back to scrubin' the cabin floors. Go now, let's not wait for the world to turn!"

"Aye aye, Waveclaw!"

"That's 'Cap'n' Waveclaw to you, oaf!" shouted the foxcaptain as his shipmate rounded the corner and disappeared behind a door. Waveclaw grunted, shook his head, and turned back to face the monstrous mountain that stood before him. The waves grew smaller, and the ship stopped rocking as much in the water. The land was getting closer.

Turning to face the deck, he looked through the window on the cabin wall from the outside. Sure enough, the oaf of a searat was still scrubbing away at the floors, fussing about the littlest speck of dust that collected on the hardwood ground. He laughed and turned back to the wondrous ocean. How beautiful it was with the sunlight reflecting off of it!

But the foxcaptain saw nothing. He did not notice the beautiful sunset. He saw no beauty in the world. He was just a cold-hearted creature that killed anything in the way of him and what he desired. The foxcaptain ripped his head from gaze at the water and changed his eyes to look at the mountain. That was what he desired now more than anything.

Just then, there was a loud _BANG!_ The foxcaptain turned to see Kleffer rounding the corner after shutting the door too hard.

"You idjit, are you tryin' to wake everybeast up? Those long-eared oafs will get out of their sleep and look at us to see us a-comin' to their homeland! If we keep quiet, they won't notice us slippin' on to the shore!"

"Dur hur, that's a good'un Cap'n, maybe 'un of yer best plans yet!" laughed the searat idiotically.

"It ain't a plan, bottlenose, it's a an excuse for you to stop being stupid. Now stop being stupid!"

"Aye aye, Cap'n!" said the rat as he saluted and pointed back towards the cabins. "Now, if you'll excuse me, Cap'n Waveclaw, I got's ta get back to a-scrubbin'!"

"Pff, whatever. As long as it doesn't wake those rabbits up, cut off your ears and dance a jig for all I care. Just remember to be quiet!"

"Yessir!" said the searat as he turned and dashed back into the cabin room.

The foxcaptain smiled and turned back to Salamandastron. His mouth drooled and foamed in excitement. He couldn't wait until it was in his possession!

A/N: So yeah, it was a little longer. I think this might be a little more enjoyable to read then some of the other chapters, because now you know how the captain and his first mate act. Well, see you next chapter!


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